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The Bluegrass Patriots
Established 1980
The Bluegrass Patriots completed their 27th year together with a busy schedule including several new festivals and concerts around the U.S. Some on the year’s highlights: January 5 – SWING STATION LaPorte, CO Brad Folk’s new venue in LaPorte, Colorado features a friendly atmosphere, outdoor patio and dedicated bluegrass fans. This was a fun gig as hard-core bluegrass fans braved bitterly cold weather to come out and support the Patriots! February 9th – AVOS Fort Collins, CO This popular Fort Collins restaurant features live music throughout the year and we usually play here every year the week before our Mid-Winter Bluegrass Festival in Denver. Great crowd, good food, enjoyable evening! February 16-18 MID-WINTER BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL Denver, CO Another great festival! The Dillards headlined the event along with 15 other bands. The Patriots played three sets and all pitched in to help with festival workshops, band scramble, green room and other activities “behind the scenes!” March 17 – ATLAS THEATER, Cheyenne Wyoming What a treat – sharing the program with High Plains Tradition (one of our favorite bluegrass bands) in the beautiful and historic Atlas Theater to a big Wyoming audience! Out thanks to Steve & Judy Gilmore for providing a very hungry band a delicious home-cooked meal at their home prior to the show! April 13-14 - CROSS COUNTRY TRAIL RIDES, Eminence MO Another great experience in Ken’s hometown! Two shows at the big Trail Rides Arena, seeing lots of old friends and getting in a lot of visiting. Other highlights included staying at Sherman and Michelle Shedd’s beautiful new cabin overlooking a breathtaking view of Current River . We were treated like royalty by the Shedds and enjoyed several jam sessions with friends and a big barbeque on Saturday afternoon. Also enjoyed an Ozark fish fry (with hushpuppies!) and jam session at Winona hosted by Gordon & Lynn Voyles in Gordon’s big garage on Friday afternoon. Great Trip!! April 27-29 - PICKIN’ AT THE PAVILION, Montrose, CO The Caudell Family has worked hard to make this one on the finest festivals in Colorado and we had a great time playing at this wonderful facility. Super jam sessions “after hours” were a bonus! May 5-6 - BENSON BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL, Benson AZ After a cold winter in Colorado and it was wonderful to see old friends and meet new ones in warm, sunny Benson. Nice crowd and great jamming with the guys from the Perfect Strangers Band. (Is there a song Jody Stecher doesn’t know!!?) Thanks, Ben Sandoval, for inviting us down to play! May 25-26 LONESOME WHISTLE BAND’S BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL, Guyton, GA We don’t often play in the South so it was exciting to fly into Savannah and do some sightseeing in this historic and beautiful city before our shows in nearby Guyton. Rebecca Rose and her family were gracious festival hosts and the fans were extremely nice to us – a most memorable weekend! June 2, 3 BLUEGRASS ON THE RIVER, Pueblo, CO One of the longest running festivals in Colorado at one of the prettiest locations, this is among our favorite events! Good bands, lots of jamming, great campground, big crowd – what more could a bluegrasser ask? June 7-8 - SANDERS FAMILY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL, McAlester, OK The highlight of this event was being treated to a big fish fry at the McAlester Fish House by our buddy, Gordon Voyles, on Ken’s birthday! Thanks to the festival audience for their nice reception to the all-gospel show we did on Saturday night. June 9 - CHITWOODS MUSIC BARN, Wichita. KS One of the nicest and most enthusiastic audiences of the season turned up at Chitwood’s Music Barn located on a big farm just south of Wichita. It’s a wonderful venue in a peaceful setting, perfect for live music and complete with homemade pies, cookies and other delectable refreshments. Thanks to the fine band, Timber Creek, for opening the show for us and to the Chitwoods and The Kansas Bluegrass Association for inviting us! July 4 – OLD TOWN INDEPENCENCE DAY CELEBRATION, Fort Collins, CO It was nice to be home on Independence Day and Fort Collins puts on a celebration that is one of the best. Included in the festivities was lots of live music and we were happy that The Bluegrass Patriots were asked to be one of the many bands to appear on the big bandstand! July 7th, ANNIE CARLSON’S WEDDING, Red Feather Lakes, CO We enjoy playing for weddings, especially when it’s for someone as lovely and nice as Annie Carlson who was one of Ken’s students back in the early 90s! July 13-14 HIGH MOUNTAIN HAY FEVER, Westcliffe, CO This festival is becoming one of the most popular events in the West and we were delighted to be a part of this terrific event. It’s located in one of the state’s most scenic areas and we appreciate all Ron Thomason and The Wolking Family have done to bring bluegrass music to this area of Colorado! August 9th – Eugene, OR SAM BOND’S GARAGE Glenn’s daughter, Bea, lives in Eugene and she helped get us this bar gig known for its live music. Thanks, Bea – it was fun to play for a “college crowd” again! August 10, 11 – MT. SAINT HELENS BLUGRASS FESTIVAL Toledo , WA This was our second appearance at this great festival and we enjoyed it more that ever! These fans know their bluegrass up here in the Northwest and we appreciated the hospitality shown to us by the fans and the Bluegrass Association. Thanks, Willie, for inviting us back up to your beautiful area to play! August 18, NEW WEST FEST, Fort Collins, CO This is a big three-day celebration in Fort Collins and we were one of about 50 bands performing live music over the weekend – huge crowd with lots of vendors and good food! August 24, 25 GREELEY BLUEGRASS ROUNDUP, Greeley, CO Island Grove Regional Park is one of the best settings for a bluegrass festival in the West and we enjoyed playing with 15 other regional bands on this beautiful weekend in Northern Colorado. Bosco Land’s “Grand Finale” on Saturday night was one of many highlights! August 31, Aledo, IL BARNES FAMILY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL This was our first appearance at this event and we played to a lively and appreciative crowd on Friday night. Saw several old friends (including Billy Britain and Dean Robinson) and were treated to a big dinner & jam session hosted by Gary and Millie Vannoy! We didn’t want to leave! September 1, 2 – TRI STATE BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL Kendallville, IN We had heard this was a great festival and we weren’t disappointed! The crowd was large and we enjoyed the nice facilities throughout the park. Thanks to Jim & Linda Winger and the Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association for inviting us to this well run and organized event! September 9 – Wolcott, CO WOLCOTT FESTIVAL We enjoyed the early autumn Colorado colors on the way to this lively concert in Wolcott which is just a few miles west of Vail. Thanks to Gene and Bonya McGarrity for the tasty brunch at their cozy Vail condo prior to the show (yum-yum)! September 15, 16 – Davis, OK ARBUCKLE MOUNTAIN BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL This event has a beautiful campground with lots of nice hardwood shade trees and is one of the up-and-coming Oklahoma festivals. Thanks to the Bowens for their hospitality – we enjoyed meeting some very nice Oklahoma and Texas bluegrassers during our visit as well as hearing some new bands for the first time. September 29, 30 – Fruita, CO FRUITA FALL FESTIVAL We’ve played at this event for many years and it just seems to get better with time! Dick Pierle does a great job in organizing and providing his Old Blue Sound for this weekend party in Fruita. Admission is free and the streets are loaded with vendors selling all sorts of good food, art work and assorted crafts. Best of all, there’s bluegrass music practically around the clock! October 27, 28 – TUCSON BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL Tucson. AZ This festival is held outdoors at the Diamond Desert Casino just south of Tucson and featured several national and regional bands on a sunny, pleasant October weekend. Arizona bluegrass fans are some of our favorites and we enjoyed an awesome jam session with some old friends following the shows on Saturday night! Thanks, Mike, for having us – it was a great way to end our 07 festival season! The Bluegrass Patriots thank our fans and promoters for their support in 2007. We look forward to our 28th year together starting in January, 2008. See our website calendar for our schedul |
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